


Law

by Blue_Hood



Series: Becoming Human [2]
Category: Daredevil (TV), X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Background Relationships, F/M, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Lawyers, Misunderstandings, Mutant Politics, Mutant Powers, Not Canon Compliant, Not Captain America: The Winter Soldier Compliant, Past Child Abuse, Politics, Protectiveness, Trust, Xavier Institute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-29
Updated: 2019-08-29
Packaged: 2020-09-29 19:10:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20441063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blue_Hood/pseuds/Blue_Hood
Summary: Victor begins taking steps to ensure his son stays safe.





	1. Family

Life at the mansion settled. Agatha began to teach students about the true history of witches and magic, drawing parallels to mutant history so far. Wanda connected to the younger students, helping out as a teaching assistant. After his impromptu lecture from Victor, Logan's memories began returning much faster, which was a testament to the level of trust the former enemy had earned. Even John's trips to testify in court cases became routine, appointments with his attorney taking over the spot _ interviews _ filled. David flourished in the accepting environment Agatha reinforced over tea with Charles. Pietro took up an assistant role to Victor, helping out around the mansion and training new students. All students were entitled to self defense training and allowed to continue the hand-to-hand training that was required for X-Men recruits.

Taking John to an appointment with his attorney, Victor asked the lady out front "Do you guys deal in civil law?"

She stared up at him, speechless until a brunette man came out of his office "Can I help you, sir?"

Even without mutant senses, Victor would be able to detect the man's wariness "I was wondering if you do civil law."

"Why don't you come in my office?" Inside, the man introduced himself "Franklin Nelson."

"Victor Creed," the large man shook the offered hand.

"What sort of legal help do you need?" asked Nelson as they sat down.

"My son was born in Arizona and his birth certificate lists his stepfather as his biological father. I'd like to fix that and give him my last name. We live over in Westchester County."

"Alright, that's tricky."

"Hence the need for a lawyer. I don't know where to begin."

"Let's start with his name."

"Vincent Davis, I didn't bother learning the bastard's name beyond Davis."

"O-kay."

Victor pulled out his wallet "How much is this legal stuff gonna cost?"

"That depends on how much the actual forms and such cost." Franklin looked up "In other words, I'm taking your case."

"Figured." Victor looked at the alarm on his phone.

"What is it?"

"I gotta drive my friend back when the alarm goes off."

"Alright. Well, I think your case is unique but interstate name change should provide some precedence. Give me your phone number and I'll call when I have something."

Victor jotted his name and number on the desk stationary before heading back out to the reception area. The woman went into Mr. Nelson's office for a few minutes before coming back and sitting at her own desk. When the alarm went off, Victor knocked on the other lawyer's door before entering and holding up his phone. After the two men wrapped up, Victor drove John back to the mansion.

A few weeks later, Vincent was excited. His daddy was taking him into the city and daddy almost never left the school so it had to be good. Logan made him dress up in a suit like daddy's. Vincent didn't ask where they were going, he only asked "Can we get ice cream?"

"After we're done, we'll get ice cream."

Entering the courthouse, Victor tried to look as non-threatening as his stature would allow. When they joined him, Franklin Nelson asked "Are you hunching?"

Victor pulled out his wallet and five one-hundred dollar bills "You never answered how much this would cost. My boss gave me the money."

"Your boss?"

"The man who owns and runs the boarding school my son and I live at."

"Okay," Nelson took the money. "Well, family court is rather simple. We just turn your paperwork in, officially make the requests and they'll approve it. A new birth certificate will be issued by the state of New York with the updated information." Seeing Victor remain hunched over, Nelson asked "Why are you doing that? Civil and criminal courts are separate, family court is a civil court."

Relaxing, Victor straightened up "Trying not to get attacked."

Vincent explained "Daddy doesn't try to look scary."

"I see. I noticed that when we met, I just forgot about it."

“That happens a lot,” said Vincent.

Family court went rather smoothly, Victor had advised Nelson to run a background check and bring a printout, to which the lawyer had laughed off but done nonetheless. The printout proved useful, showing some of his military background and none of his criminal past.

After signing all the relevant official documents, he was told the new birth certificate would be mailed once the papers were processed. As they were leaving the courtroom, Vincent asked “Now can we get ice cream?”

“Sure,” Victor asked Nelson “Any recommendations? I don’t get out much.”

The lawyer smiled “Sure. I know a pretty good place a couple blocks away.” He’d discovered it while working a custody case.

When he returned to the office, Foggy handed Karen the five bills “From Victor Creed.”

“This is $500, I thought you said the case was simple.”

“It was a civil case, updating a birth certificate from out of state to change the child’s name and the listed father. Not exactly simple but yeah, I wasn’t expecting five bills.”

“How can he afford this? No offense but,”

“He said his boss gave him the money and he doesn’t get out much, which I believe coming from a guy living at a boarding school.”

“Huh,” Karen said “We’ll just have to deposit the money, we don’t get a lot of well-paying clients like this.”

“Well-paying?” asked Matt as he came into the room. “How well-paying?”

“$500 on top of the court fees,” answered Foggy.

“Wow, that’s great.” Matt asked “From who? We’ll have to get on their retainer.”

“I think we already are, Victor Creed gave me this money for handling a civil case.”

“Yeah, we’re definitely on their retainer with those Brotherhood cases we’re trying to appeal.”

Karen asked “Brotherhood cases?”

Matt explained “A lot of the people arrested as members of the Brotherhood were just mutants trying to survive. They lived in Brotherhood bases for protection, strength in numbers. Now the government’s running roughshod over them, convicting them in sham trials, often as accessories to crimes they weren’t even aware of. Pyro is helping me sort out those who were in the wrong place at the wrong time from the criminals so we can begin legal action.” Soon, the Bulletin ran a story about the Brotherhood sham trials, laying out the premise of the problem with a promise of follow-ups.


	2. Hunt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The best defense is a good offense.

Vincent Creed had settled into life at the mansion when his daddy sat him down to tell him he'd be going away for a while "There's a few things I need to do but I promise I'll be back before you know it, Vince." His daddy never called him Vinny, always Vincent or Vince. Sensing how sad he was, daddy told him "Y'know Logan and I are actually brothers. That means he's your uncle. I'm never gonna leave you all alone, Vincent." Vince hugged his daddy as hard as he could.

After breaking the news to his son, Victor told the adults "I have a lot of enemies who'd do anything to get something I care about. I gotta take 'em out before they even find out about Vincent and I'm gonna be working with Hank to get Mutant Affairs some capital, maybe enough to stop the sham trials. I'll be back in a few weeks, months at the most." They wished him good luck and he rode off that night.

Riding straight to DC, he broke into McCoy's place "It's time." He set a contract on the table as well as three identical sealed manilla envelopes.

The blue man read the contract "Agent James will be your handler since you two already work well together." McCoy signed and retrieved a box, which Creed took while pocketing a burner phone.

Though he didn't trust himself to fight as an X-Man, Victor had kept himself battle ready through Danger Room simulations and day catch-and-release hunts in the backwoods. The latter was more useful for the hunt he and McCoy were working on. They had agreed that his ride-alongs would lose value when Victor proposed this deal. The box had information on the FBI's Most Wanted, including a piece of evidence for scent.

Some of these guys were easy prey, tracking them down was barely a challenge with their choice to blend making them unprepared for a fight. Victor broke into the building with the most of their scent, either facing them or sneaking up behind them inside to choke them into unconsciousness. After knocking out each prey, Victor resisted the urge to kill them or play games with them and instead called the number on the burner phone. McCoy knew nothing about black ops so Creed controlled how long each phone was kept active.

Between hunts, Victor went into mutant fight clubs and let his control slip for the night. He terrified the crowds in an exhilarating way, always earning an invitation back and never being attacked by human owners who'd normally try to take fighters like him. The real fun started after the fights when Sabretooth hunted the humans who ran the clubs and trafficked mutants.

In the process of taking out America's most wanted, Victor also called in his enemies. The FBI's Most Wanted list was constantly being updated as were every intelligence agency that McCoy could get a list from. Some, like the FBI, were happy to have the help and even took care of the extras that Secretary McCoy's ally called in while others, like the CIA, couldn't handle the anonymity and wanted a name so bad they crossed the line.

Victor hadn't been able to call in his latest prey. His handler wasn't picking up and per his own advice, had no voicemail. Creed dragged the fugitive to a cop car "Citizen's arrest, he's on the FBI's most wanted list." Before running off, the cops were naturally wary but nonetheless ran the man's prints at the station. Since they had no idea who Creed was, they truthfully told the agents who picked the fugitive up that a stranger dropped him off by a cruiser.

Hunting his handler, Victor spared not a second on sleep. Finding Agent Conrad James being tortured caused the predator to lose control, blacking out as his instincts took over. Agent James was only semi-conscious when the one-man assault occurred, leaving him truly unable to identify the perpetrator. As he came back to his senses, Victor gingerly freed an almost unconscious Conrad and carried him to a truck outside the barn that he'd been held captive in before retrieving a blanket from the captors' quarters. With his handler recovered, Creed called Secretary McCoy as he searched the property "This is McCoy?"

"Bet you had fun with that in high school," replied Victor, prompting Hank McCoy to shoo his security detail back. "I found Agent James. He's alive but barely and I don't know what to do."

"Where are you?"

Having found a badge, Creed said "I called your work phone."

"Right, right." McCoy said "Call it in properly, I'll give you a number." The number he gave was to an FBI agent who supported the Mutant Affairs' ally.

"This is Lynch?"

"Secretary McCoy gave me this number. I need to report the location of a recovered Agent James for Mutant Affairs. Are you in," and he gave the state.

"Uh, no but I have a trusted colleague there, Agent Grant."

"Is it okay if I drop Agent James off at a hospital? I don't know how long I can hold the scene. I'll text you the address, assuming this number is a cell."

"It is."

Pulling up to the hospital, Creed laid on the horn before shoving James onto the sidewalk. He ditched the truck about a mile away from the barn and ran on all fours away from the vehicle to cover his escape. Waiting for a new handler, Creed turned his hunt toward all the assassins and mercenaries he knew while targeting any organized crime he came across. Taking down criminals he caught in the act, Victor forced many gangs to retreat to their headquarters. He preferred hunting packs, the challenge made up for all the easy captures. Stealing a razor from a gangbanger he hunted down, Creed sat down in an alley to give himself a buzz cut. Maintaining the simple hairstyle made Creed harder to single out.

After each takedown, Creed sent Agent Lynch the address along with a picture of the scene, thus making the FBI agent his unofficial temporary handler. Every takedown except one, the Winter Soldier. For him, Victor called Charles Xavier "You can break brainwashing, right?"

"I've never had to but I believe so."

"Good. I'll send you the location."

"Of?"

"A brainwashed Bucky Barnes." Victor stayed to help load the unconscious super soldier into the Blackbird before running off.

Soon afterwards, Secretary McCoy sent him a message to meet in Crispus Attuck Park. There he met Agent Laura Brown, who handed him an envelope "All relevant information is in there."

Creed stashed it in his bag as Agent Brown showed him her badge "McCoy sent you?"

"Yes, Secretary McCoy did."

"Good enough for me." Victor continued his hunt, clearing the FBI's Most Wanted list three times over before his own list of criminal contacts, rivals and enemies was clear.

After nearly four months, he reported on mutant trafficking rings and fight clubs to end his deal with Mutant Affairs, which was meant to generate political capital for McCoy. On his way back across the country, he forced gangs to their headquarters and reported them to local police. He also deposited all the money he'd recovered from drug dealers into an almost empty bank account he'd long been neglecting.

In New York, he stopped at a safehouse to change clothes before taking his bike the rest of the way to the school. He entered his override code at the gate, making a beeline for the infirmary once he parked. He asked Jean, "It's MRI not X-ray that can't handle metal, right?"

"Victor, I didn't know you were back."

"Four months and I cleared the FBI's Most Wanted list three times. McCoy should have no problem leveraging my work to get all those mutant kids out of trouble."

"That's good. What was your question again?"

"X-rays can handle metal, right? It won't break if I scan for some shrapnel that I healed over?"

"No, it won't break but let me do the scan, it's not really made to be operated by the patient."

"Alright."

Glancing at him from the X-ray controls, she asked "When's the last time you slept?"

"A week ago, maybe two. You remember how I was when I got here?"

"I do but I doubt Vincent does."

"I plan on seeing him before I go to sleep, maybe watch a cartoon with him or something. Is the machine ready?"

"Yes, normally I'd have to wear lead for safety but I doubt the radiation can hurt you. Through there," she pointed at a door. She knocked on the door after the scan, "If you don't mind, I'll remove the shrapnel."

Victor shrugged then winced, "Definitely some in my left shoulder." He sat down and carefully removed his shirt to avoid jostling his shoulder. Jean carefully used a scalpel to remove the bullet fragments and assorted debris lodged in Victor's body by months of fighting the good fight.

"You don't heal quite the same way Logan does, do you?"

"Almost the same level but no. His body spits out bullets and crap, mine heals around it. Poison is the only real way to sedate us for the same reason we can't get drunk."

"I see. Are you color blind?"

"Partially, Logan's probably the same. I can see into the infrared, he can see far ahead but we can't see colors as well as you can."

"Infrared?"

"Yeah. Why'd you ask?"

"Your mutations are animalistic in nature and it just occurred to me that animals are often color blind."

Victor chuckled "Cats aren't, I read somewhere that house cats can see some colors."

"You both have good night vision if Logan's anything to go by."

"True." Victor's eyes narrowed as he listened "Scott's storming away. Does he usually get territorial over you?"

"Logan and I had a fling, at least in Scott's mind. I should check on him."

"Or?" Victor called out to the Professor _ I'm in the infirmary getting shrapnel removed. I think I pissed Shades off. _

Charles answered in both of their minds _ I'll take care of Scott and welcome back. _

_ Thanks. _ Victor raised an eyebrow at Jean. _ I'll be up to see Vincent when I'm done here. _

"That was efficient," the doctor said slowly.

Meanwhile in the library, Scott said "You called me?"

Charles said "Victor thinks he upset you."

Scott tried to explain but couldn't figure out how to articulate his problem without sounding petulant. He settled on "What's he doing in the infirmary in the first place?"

Charles chuckled, "He's getting shrapnel removed, I didn't ask for details but I assume his healing factor works differently than Logan's."

"Oh, I guess I overreacted."

"You did the same thing with Logan. I believe Victor intends to surprise Vincent, which is why he didn't call ahead."

Once shrapnel free, Victor found Vincent working on a coloring book. With a grin, he scooped his son up from behind. "Daddy!"

"Vincent," Victor carefully dropped his son on the couch "Let's watch some Scooby Doo or something."

"Okay."

The old mutant had no problem finding the DVDs, switching from cable was trickier but still easy. When he sat down on the couch, Vincent climbed into his lap. He fell asleep during the opening chase sequence while the movie kept his son distracted.

After the movie, Vincent turned to see his daddy was sleeping. Wanda had her phone pointed at them, he waved at the camera. She chuckled and stopped recording, beckoning Vincent out of the room. In the hall, she whispered “Let’s get Logan to wake your dad.” The little boy nodded his head excitedly before running off in search of his uncle. Wanda had watched Vincent while his father was away, forming a bond with the younger Creed.

Standing in the doorway, Wanda flagged Logan down as he was passing “Victor fell asleep watching a movie with Vincent. Didn’t want to startle him so I told Vincent to go find you.”

Logan nodded before walking in and shaking Victor’s shoulder, nearly losing his hand in the process of waking his brother. Vincent ran up to Wanda as his daddy woke up “I can’t find him.” Wanda pointed to the couch. “Daddy!”

Victor slowly stood and his son grabbed his hand “I’m heading to bed.” Vince held his hand as he slowly went to his room, “See ya later.”

"Sweet dreams."

At dinner, Victor received a round of welcome backs before sitting with his son. Even from across the room, Scott could tell the older mutant was amusing the little boy despite his own exhaustion and soreness. He suddenly felt very guilty over his earlier assumption, "Victor really loves Vincent."

When the others turned to him, Scott realized he said that out loud. Logan chuckled "Kid's his whole world, makes me wonder what kind of woman his mother was. I doubt Victor'll get over her anytime soon."

"How long did it take you to get over Kayla?"

"That's different, Slim. I didn't remember losing her for the longest time." Logan sighed "She must've been special if Victor went back."

"Why do you think he left her?"

Logan gave him a strange look, a striking reminder of their age gap, "Maybe the same reason he spent months hunting down criminals."

"Right," drawled Scott, feeling stupid.

Wanda retorted, "You can't tell me you saw this coming?"

Logan smirked "Could say the same thing 'bout me 'fore Kayla. The right person changes everything."


	3. Return

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to get down to brass tacks.

After catching up on his sleep, Victor rode out to a safehouse. Collecting his flash drive, he returned to the school soon after McCoy arrived. "How many?"

"At least 60."

"Here," he handed the blue mutant a bag with the flash drive "That has information about the bank for terrorists and warlords, should satisfy INTERPOL."

"Most likely if you deliver it personally."

"Should I involve my lawyer? How long can you hold 'em off?"

"I could call in a few favors," began Hank.

"Don't. Can you arrange a self surrender a week from now? Without calling in favors."

"Yes, I think so."

"Do it and give Franklin Nelson the details."

"Will do."

Scott cut in "60 what?"

Hank turned to him "60 mutants convicted in sham trials have been exonerated."

Victor addressed the room "Which creates a new problem. This school is a safe haven for young mutants but that doesn't solve the problem for adult mutants. These trials prove that mutant undergrounds don't always work."

"There may already be a solution, a neighborhood in Manhattan called Mutant Town."

"Where in Manhattan?" asked Ororo.

Charles was silent for a moment "Along Avenue C, bordering Greenwich."

"You had to ask," Victor remarked to Charles.

"John often visits Mutant Town with his friends."

"Anklet's off?"

Scott smiled "Got it off when his lawyer negotiated his probation about two weeks ago."

"How long will he be on probation?"

Hank answered "Our arrangement includes a sealed record, not long."

"Must help that he didn't do any missions," agreed Victor. "How many did I catch?"

"Over a hundred," Hank smiled proudly.

"They'll be willing to play ball." Victor asked "Is Nelson qualified for this?"

"He's Murdock's partner," explained Scott.

"For a simple exchange, I believe so."

Victor nodded "I don't want to leave Vincent when I just got back."

"The FBI knows who you are."

"I figured with Agent Lynch. Surprised they weren't with the CIA and that mess."

"The CIA wasn't alone in that operation."

"I thought so." Victor said "So the FBI is playing it close to the chest?"

"More like keep away."

Victor nodded "You're getting better at the game." He held a hand up "Before you say anything, remember I'm effectively immortal." Nodding to Charles, he pointed at his forehead _ watch out for eavesdroppers_. The telepath nodded.

Jean asked "What is it?"

"Decapitation and drowning are the only ways to kill me. The latter should work on Logan."

"Why are you telling us this?"

When Hank found himself receiving the look, Scott felt a smug sort of joy "It's a sign of trust. He trusts us not to misuse the power to kill him."

"What works on us will work on anybody," added Logan.

* * *

Victor visited his lawyer the next day and handed over the drive. The meeting was arranged for the New York office for Mutant Affairs. He met Nelson at his law office, "You can drive, right?"

"Are you licensed?"

"Got it after the Brotherhood takedown, once my record was clear so registration wouldn't get me arrested. You?"

"Not so much."

"I'll drive then. I've been to the office before."

"Right."

In the car, Victor said "Walk me through this. I go where and surrender."

"This actually isn't a self surrender, we'll go into an office to trade the drive."

"Why are you so nervous?"

"Secretary McCoy is supposed to be at the meeting." The normally serious mutant chuckled. His lawyer asked "What?"

"McCoy set up this meeting, Franklin."

"Foggy." Victor made an inquisitive hum. "My friends call me Foggy."

His client smirked "Enhanced hearing, remember? I heard your colleague call you that the day we met."

"Then you know her name."

"Disrespectful if you don't know 'em."

"Right, her last name is Page."

"I heard Miss Page call you Foggy the day we met."

"You can call me Foggy."

"Okay." Victor drove the rest of the way in silence.

Foggy went to open the door, finding it locked "Victor?"

"Miss Page writes the mutant articles for the Daily Bugle, could you write down her number for Secretary McCoy? Not a lot of pro-mutant news media."

"Sure."

After the meeting, which was a simple deliver and sign, Victor put a hand on Foggy's shoulder to steer him to follow Secretary McCoy to his temporary office. The tall mutant said "His friend Karen Page writes the pro-mutant articles for the Daily Bugle."

Finding his voice, Foggy said "Right, right. I'm sure she'd love to do an interview before her editor drops the story."

Hank McCoy offered his hand "I'm sure we can schedule something, thank you Mr. Nelson."

"How do you-?" He saw Victor's raised eyebrow "You set up the meeting, right, right." Foggy shook the Secretary's hand.

Victor crossed his arms and chuckled "He's usually much more coherent, stopped being scared of me after a couple minutes." Smirking, he said "He knew you'd be at the meeting and it made him nervous, I think you got a fan. And human to boot." Foggy halfheartedly glared at him, to which he shrugged.

McCoy told Nelson "Sit down, son." The man did, turning his attention back to the blue man. "Let me ask you something. If you were a mutant, how long would you wait before telling your friends that? How long is too long or too soon to keep that a secret from someone?"

Victor knew that the question wasn't meant to be answered, it served to give humans perspective. After letting Nelson ponder it for awhile, Victor broke the silence "That question would be great if you ever had to campaign for your job."

Foggy's eyes widened with understanding as Secretary McCoy grinned. "The question has no answer," said Nelson, "That's not the point."

"It's all about perspective," agreed McCoy.

"If you had a fast answer, that'd be a huge red flag," added Victor.

"Want me to ask Karen that question before the interview?"

"No, I'm going to be heading back to DC soon. Perhaps you and Miss Page could come by this evening."

At Foggy's reaction, Victor had to suppress a chuckle "I'm your ride either way and he's inviting you as another pro-mutant human, those are rare." With a sigh, Victor said "I wish you could drive so I could just give you my keys and ride with McCoy. Guess I'll just have to swing back around."

"I can get a ride," argued Foggy.

Hank instructed his agent "Aster, drive Mr. Nelson back to his office. Mr. Creed and I have an urgent appointment."

The man in a suit who turned when McCoy began speaking nodded. "Yessir." To Foggy, "Right this way."

As they disappeared around the corner, Foggy walking in a daze, Victor took the abandoned seat "Does that happen a lot? People being starstruck?"

Hank shrugged "I am a member of the President's Cabinet but no, not often."

"I doubt the Secretary of Defense would have the same effect. Have you cleared them with Charles?"

"They were cleared before John set foot in their office, both by my office and Charles."

"Alright, should be interesting and since when does sightseeing constitute an urgent appointment?" Victor stood and started leading McCoy to the car.

"When we're looking into housing for dozens of displaced mutants, I'd say time is of the essence."

"Your detail gonna follow us or ride along?"

"Both most likely."

"How do you get away with ditching them to meet with Charles?"

"I don't ditch my detail, I dismiss them when I know I'm completely safe."

"Right." When an agent blocked the driver's door, Victor simply shoved him aside to open the door, McCoy telling the agent to stand down.

John met them at the Greenwich border to Mutant Town to show them around, Victor pulled out his phone and showed McCoy his bank information "I still have taxes to pay and a trust to set up but I doubt it'll cut too deep. Shouldn't be too hard to get mutant housing projects passed if half the cost is paid by an anonymous benefactor but you know politics better than I do."

"Right."

John narrowed his eyes "Mutant housing projects?"

Before Hank could put his foot in his mouth with political speak, Victor said "Remember all those mutants who were arrested, tried and convicted of crimes they had no knowledge of because they were caught in Brotherhood raids?" John nodded "5 dozen have thus far been exonerated. McCoy's hoping to set up somewhere for them to go so they don't have to go through this again. Figured Mutant Town would make a good model."

"What'd you just show him on your phone?"

"My bank account. We gonna get back to the tour?"


	4. Trust

After the tour, John caught a ride with Victor and Hank. The former called his lawyer "Nelson, if you and Miss Page are all set at the office then I'll pick you two up." Hanging up, Victor explained "Miss Page works at Nelson and Murdock, which is how she got inspired to do the articles."

From the backseat, John said "Karen is coming with us?"

"She's good for the cause," came Hank's answer.

John sat behind Victor, allowing Foggy and Karen to climb in from the sidewalk. The reporter greeted him, "Hey, John."

The young mutant nodded in response before asking Victor "Where are we going?"

"Home," answered the driver.

"I thought you both lived in a boarding school," said Foggy.

"We do," replied John.

"The school is a mutant safe haven," explained Hank. "The first of its kind but hopefully not the last. I'll be back in DC pushing for mutant housing tomorrow. It'll take some doing to ensure safe housing for mutants doesn't take the form of segregation. John showed us around a neighborhood where many mutants in New York have made their home."

Victor said "Let's not waste gas doing the interview on the road." Their human passengers agreed.

When the ensuing silence became heavy, John asked "Could you turn on the radio?" Hank complied, making the rest of the drive less awkward.

Stopping at the gate, Victor entered his code and gave the humans their first glimpse of the school. "It's beautiful."

As they drove up, Hank explained "Charles converted his family mansion back in the 60s to make the school."

"Magneto, Beast and the Professor all helped make this place what it is. Along with Mystique, they were all part of the original X-Men." As they got out, John told Hank "The Professor gave me permission to share."

Scott greeted them along with Charles, "Welcome, Miss Page, Mr. Nelson."

Victor told the pair "I can drive you back tonight or tomorrow morning, either way I'm gonna take McCoy to the airport when he's ready to fly back to DC." He turned to walk away "The Professor can find me if you need me before dinner."

"How?" asked Foggy without thinking.

"I am a telepath, Mr. Nelson." answered Charles "As a child, I once believed I was the only one of my kind. Discovering more inspired me to start this school, a place where young mutants can learn and grow without fear."

"As you can guess, letting two humans in is kind of a big deal," added John.

Charles led Karen to his office, "I believe this will be a nice, quiet place for your interview."

"Thank you, Professor." She sat down with Hank.

Meanwhile Foggy asked Scott "If you don't mind my asking, what's your mutation?"

Scott answered "Put it this way, if I took off my glasses and looked up then we'd need a new ceiling and roof and everything in between."

"That doesn't explain much, do you have heat vision?"

"A better explanation would be to say you're Cyclops," said a red haired woman. Offering her hand to Foggy, she introduced "I'm Doctor Jean Grey, this is Scott Summers and before you ask, I have telekinesis with latent telepathy. I can't read minds as well as the Professor."

"But you can move things with your mind," finished Foggy. "Foggy Nelson and I was wondering if X-gene positive referred strictly to mutants or if it applies to carriers of the gene like human parents. I tried to help Karen do research for her articles and kinda got confused."

"The term can refer to both but typically humans don't call themselves X-gene positive so when someone says they are, they're usually saying they're a mutant." Jean studied him for a moment, "Most people don't really care about that, even mutants rarely ask."

Foggy said "I've never understood the prejudice against mutants. It's fun to ask someone if they could have any superpower then what would they want but people with actual superpowers are bad, just never made sense to me."

Jean chuckled "That's one way of looking at it."

Foggy shrugged "If your argument against a minority is that they're the Devil's spawn then you should keep that to yourself."

"There is a genuine concern," began Jean.

"Magneto can move anything made of metal with his mind, right?" Jean nodded. "How much metal does the Secret Service wear? I agree there's a genuine concern with guys like Magneto but we need to be careful not to condemn a whole species. If we do then clearly we've learned nothing any number of events in which the government discrimination of minorities backfired. Things like the Salem Witch Trials, the Red Scare, the Trail of Tears, segregation, and more. History is supposed to be a teaching tool, that's why we record these events."

"You might be onto something," said Scott.

"You never thought to use history?" asked Foggy. "I figured it'd be obvious.

"Not the way you're thinking," confirmed Scott. "People have never listened to us before."

"Where did Victor go?" Foggy said "I just figured-"

"He's spending time with his son," answered Jean.

"When he said if you need me, he meant life or death," explained Scott. "How about I show you around?" Foggy nodded and followed the X-Men leader.

At dinner, Foggy saw the darndest thing. Victor had just finished filling the little kids' plates when John jumped on him. In one fluid motion, the larger mutant threw the teenager onto his back on the floor. Growling, he said one word "Out."

As the teen ran for his life, what made the scene strange was everyone's nonchalance. "Does that happen-?"

Wanda explained "Victor was never gonna hurt him but teenagers should know better than to jump on people." The fire that filled her eyes scared the human visitors "Do not even suggest he's an unfit parent."

"Wasn't going to," assured Foggy. "Everyone just seemed way too calm after that."

"Victor's gonna leave him be for two days then he'll pull John out and let the Professor talk to him. If something comes up, he'll get pulled out early." At the pair's strange looks, Scott explained "Victor projected the plan to the Professor and he mentally shared it with us."

"O-kay."

Scott looked past them to the kiddie table Victor sat at, "I'll drive them home, kay?" Looking over their shoulders to Victor, Foggy and Karen saw him give a thumbs up.

"That's handy," said Karen and Scott shrugged before the subject changed.

Setting the kids up with Veggie tales, Victor pulled Hank into the hall to talk. "You could use our contract as a template to get the X-Men a government charter." He warned the politician "I'm telling you right now that I am not going on any mission or crap until school starts in September. I've missed enough of his life."

"Understood and thanks for the advice."

"You'll need to ride back with Scott to keep your detail out of too much trouble."

"Right, see you around."

"My contract is a one-year deal, keep the charter within a presidential term."

"Right, thank you."

Victor shook his hand "Try to give us a head's up if you hear anything before the public. I gotta," he pointed at the TV room.

Throughout the movie, he and Wanda took the kids for bath time, changing them into pajamas before returning them to watch the movie. Kids under the age of twelve at a school for mutants only numbered a little over a dozen, which he thought was still impressive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally, this series was just going to be one story then I went to update the tags on Instinct and realized that the times they are a changin' in this story so I took all the chapters I had just posted, deleted them and re-posted them as two new stories.


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